Bard College Hosts Top International Students through Study of the U.S. Institutes

The Bard College Center for Civic Engagement has been selected to host top international students from five countries through the Study of the U.S. Institutes (SUSI) for Student Leaders on Civic Engagement.  SUSIs for Student Leaders, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and implemented by Meridian International Center as well as locally by the Center for Civic Engagement, welcomes in total 100 participants from 24 countries around the world.

“At a time when global relations are changing and often volatile, our commitment to engaging with the world and developing educational partnerships with scholars and student leaders becomes even more vital to the country,” —Jonathan Becker, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Director of Civic Engagement.

Bard College is hosting 20 of the university-level student leaders from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia and Turkey for a five-week academic exchange program titled “Civic Engagement in the 21st Century: Leadership and the Challenge of the Engaged Citizen.” The Institute explores the evolution of participatory democracy in the United States, with the goal of providing participants with the tools and understanding to allow them to become engaged citizens in their own communities. To learn more about the Institute for Student Leaders on Civic Engagement, please click here: cce.bard.edu/international/susi.

Nominated by U.S. embassies, consulates, and Fulbright commissions, the 2019 SUSI participants arrived at Bard on Saturday, June 22.  Their stay includes an academic residency at Bard’s upstate New York campus, study tours in New York City and Baltimore and a Closing Forum in Washington D.C., as well as site visits throughout the Hudson Valley region of New York State.  Participants have a unique opportunity to work closely with Bard faculty and staff to fine-tune their own civic engagement projects, learn from and volunteer at local community organizations around Bard, and partake in home stays with American families.

The Study of the U.S. Institutes are designed and funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).  SUSI participants are among over 55,000 individuals participating in U.S. Department of State exchange programs each year.  For more than 75 years, the Department of State has funded and supported programs that seek to promote mutual understanding and respect between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.  For additional information about SUSI programs, contact [email protected].

To learn more about the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, please visit: eca.state.gov.

Follow the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs on Twitter: @ECAatState or like the Bureau of Cultural and Educational Affairs on Facebook: facebook.com/ExchangeProgramsAtState.

For more information on Bard’s Center for Civic Engagement, visit: cce.bard.edu
Follow the Center for Civic Engagement on Twitter: @bardcce
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Post Date: 06-26-2019